ROCKINGHAM — Major upgrades are in store for the city’s wastewater treatment plant with funds coming from the state budget.
City leaders on Tuesday thanked Rep. Ben Moss for helping secure $13 million for Rockingham and nearly $50 million for the county — a large chunk of which will be used for water-related projects.
City Manager Monty Crump said the money is “not just superfluous funds,” but will support “things that are critical, that will move the needle for not only Rockingham but Richmond County.”
This will be the first major upgrade to the plant since 1990 and will include increasing efficiency of sludge handling, backup power generation and “a whole host of things,” according to Crump.
The upgrades, Crump added, will allow the city to move forward in becoming a regional wastewater treatment plant.
Ellerbe already sends its wastewater to Rockingham, and has been for 15-20 years, according to Crump.
Earlier this year, the city and county entered into an agreement for Rockingham to take the wastewater from the Energy Way Industrial Complex on Airport Road south of Hamlet. Last week, the Richmond County Board of Commissioners voted to pay the agreed-upon $1.25 million for those wastewater services.
Click here to read more about the agreement.
Crump said Rockingham is in talks with the city of Hamlet to take its wastewater “at some point in time in the future.”
Hamlet was awarded a $10.3 million grant from the state in February for improvements to its water treatment plant.
Click here to read about the local grants awarded in that cycle.
In preparation for requesting the funding be added to the state budget, Crump said Moss toured the plant and was given details on what needed to be done and “what it would mean, long-term, to the county.”
Crump said Moss has “proved effective” as any of the legislators he’s worked with in the past four decades.
The city was also designated as the pass-through for $300,000 to go toward restroom facility improvements at Rockingham Dragway.
Click here to read more about local allocations from the budget.
In a previous budget, the city was allocated $300,000 for renovations to the old Food King building on East Washington Street, including replacing the floor, fixing the roof and removing asbestos to make it tenant-ready.
Crump said Tuesday that there is a deal in the works for the property, which could result in two to three retail spaces and a restaurant space.
The city manager said he hopes to bring the agreement to the council by the end of the year.
Mayor John Hutchinson remarked how effective Moss has been, especially only being in his second term in the N.C. House of Representatives.
“It’s going to be remarkable to see what he does in the state House and how important and impactful contributions are going to be for Richmond County and for Rockingham,” Hutchinson said.
Moss, R-Richmond, said he couldn’t take all the credit, adding that Sen. Dave Craven, R-Randolph, was instrumental in helping with funding requests.
As a Rockingham native, Moss said it is “nice to see” the taxpayer dollars coming back to the county and being utilized to “help our future children and maybe our children’s children.”
Moss said he was “adamant” about the area’s water and infrastructure needs.
“I think regional wastewater is the future, especially for the rural areas,” Moss said. “And while there (are) funds out there available, I want to make sure we ask for what we need and take the burden off the local taxpayers and give us a good groundwork for the future.”
Moss said he was still a “rookie” in the House, but doesn’t mind asking “for what we need.”
“There’s gonna be times I won’t be able to help, but I assure you it won’t be from lack of trying or asking.”
